Steven Sodebergh’s Liberace Movie, BEHIND THE CANDELABRA, to Air on HBO; Michael Douglas and Matt Damon Confirmed to Star

Michael Douglas and Matt Damon are confirmed to star in Steven Sodebergh’s long-in-development Liberace biopic, now titled Behind the Candelabra. The more surprising news [via EW] is that the movie will air on HBO rather than head to theaters. Executive Producer Jerry Weintraub (Ocean’s Eleven trilogy) says, “I’ve wanted to make a film about Liberace for a very long time, and after the amazing experience I had with HBO on His Way [Doug McGrath’s documentary about Weintraub] I knew that they were absolutely the right place for this movie.”

Michael Douglas is set to play the delightfully flamboyant Liberace who was the world’s highest paid entertainer from the 1950s to 1970s (thanks, Wikipedia!). Damon will play Liberace’s secret lover Scott Thorson. Filming is set to begin in summer 2012, with locations in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Palm Springs.